Monet St. Croix / Penance Appreciation 2020

[yogaflame]

M is barely 21. The main X-Men are still barely 30. It's only been about 10 years since 1963 for them.

They were 17, 20 years ago. That's about 3.5 years for them.

[yogaflame]

I love GenX M, and Hickman's. No, I wasn't a fan of what came in between. PAD was horrible for her in particular.

[Silver Fang]

I love GenX M, and Hickman's. No, I wasn't a fan of what came in between. PAD was horrible for her in particular.

I loved GenX in general. But we got classic Monet there. She started off decent in X-Factor vol 2. But when the renumbering & new costume came, she turned into a complete bitch personified with no character outside of being hateful. Her run in Storm's X-Women was decent. She had her snark back, but seemed a bit friendly -possibly coming to value her comrades more after the mess that became of X-Factor. I just hated Jubilee's regression back into hating Monet & anything she touched. lol


I liked Bunn's Monet, though I know many here hated his Uncanny & what he did with her. For the few panels she had, I thought Strain did well with her voice when she was cured of Emplate. And finally loved her in Giant Size Storm.

[frostedemma]

M was devastated when he died, and has been extra mean since. PAD didn't ignore her, he just wrote her differently. Hickman wrote M like her GenX self in Storm, and it was amazing, even if, as you say, that was a 'character regression'. Sometimes you have to take a step back before moving forward. M reclaiming a bit of her GenX self, including Ev, might be just the foundation for her to thrive from again.

Everyone in gen x was devastated when Synch died, I don't understand why you're singling her out as if her entire world fell down as opposed to someone who grieved and experienced the different stages of grief after it. PAD did write her especially mean in x-factor for no reason, along with Terry, Lorna and wrote Rahne as a raging evangelical homophobe. So you know, maybe pad's characterisation wasn't wholly accurate, especially given how at the end of gen x Monet developed actual character growth and wasn't the archetypical 90's mean girl she was when she started out and it continued during her time in x-corps.

Monet can never go back to who she was in gen x because that's not how trauma and emotional growth work. First off you can't ask any adult to go back to who they were at 16-17 years old because it's highly unrealistic and you've learned more things, seen more of the world and learn stuff about yourself. It becomes doubly true when you add trauma and mental illness. That doesn't mean that Monet is broken or whatever else nonsense, but that trauma changes you, it literally rewires your brain. It shapes you into a new person the way any new life experience does, it's just that it leaves you with scars and stuff to deal with.

The problem with Monet's characterisation is precisely that people are stuck in her 90's characterisation and refuse to let her evolve or grow as person, and any time she's written as more open/friendly and more flexible and with an inch of self awareness (which are all leadership qualities) people complain that she's ooc or that she isn't the gen x Monet they know. It's something Rogue and Jubilee suffer from too but that's another convo. If we want Monet to lead her own team we can't have her be that traumatised 16 years old girl who was afraid of opening up and buried everything underneath. I love gen x Monet, she's iconic, but that girl had a lot of learning and growing up to do and that's ok. Growth is not the enemy.

Plus I don't know about you, but I'd rather swallow sand than go back to who I was when i was 16-17. That person was a mess and half with horrible eyebrows and decent playlists.

[yogaflame]

You can only apply real-world psychology to these characters but so much. M is literally a new, modified body with a telepathic backup uploaded into it. Ev too. And now he's spent 500+ years fighting adaptive transhumanists. People in the real world bump into old friends and rekindle relationships all the time. It could work here.

Plus, you could add Roberto into the mix, if you're so fixated on novelty! Polyamory is all the rage in Krakoa, they say.

[RamaBird]

While reuniting with an old flame is something I would NOT advise ion real life, I would advise it in fiction though. I am a fan of Cyclops and Jean after all.

I still don't want her with Sync. I guess for me it comes down more to marketing. Monet is in a position she can finally break out as an Alist character. Sync is not and probably will never be. His powers aren't stereotypically ones that get you lots of storylines, and his personality seems to be more on the chill side (great personality trait but not for entertainment). It's similar to the complaints I have about Northstar and Kyle.. I feel Sync would hold Monet back and right now she needs to be involved with big attention drawing characters.

[BroHomo]

While reuniting with an old flame is something I would NOT advise ion real life, I would advise it in fiction though. I am a fan of Cyclops and Jean after all.

I still don't want her with Sync. I guess for me it comes down more to marketing. Monet is in a position she can finally break out as an Alist character. Sync is not and probably will never be. His powers aren't stereotypically ones that get you lots of storylines, and his personality seems to be more on the chill side (great personality trait but not for entertainment). It's similar to the complaints I have about Northstar and Kyle.. I feel Sync would hold Monet back and right now she needs to be involved with big attention drawing characters.

Liiiiiike??

[RamaBird]

Liiiiiike??

Wolverine!!! haha.

No but seriously, I'd get her involved with Magik (frenemies), Jubilee(friend/confidant), Storm (reluctant mentor), Rogue (big sister), Sunspot (exposure to leadership positions)... Maybe some Avengers too. I'd see her working well with Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Maybe even have her fight Cpt. Marvel.

[yogaflame]

Please, Synch is poised for a comeback. He's on the Reign of X promo just as prominently as M/Warren if not moreso. He'll have Hickman's own pen writing his return, flushed with the powers of all the CotV. His rainbow aura is a gorgeous visual when properly rendered, and he has a charismatic leader personality. He and M could be the new power couple in the same vein as Scott/Jean, if the writers want them to be so.

[Agent Z]

Yeah, Ev will have spent like, 500 years in the Vault by the time he returns, or more. Don't act like M's some wise sage. All she did in the meantime was be a prissy b-yotch, passed around PAD's X-Factor for the most part. High school sweethearts Scott and Jean remain together, stronger than ever, 57 years later. M and Ev barely got started before he got blown up. She's been a mess ever since.

They both have died and been resurrected. Let them try again. Isn't that the whole Krakoa mantra?

Monet's romantic history in X-Factor consisted of a one-night stand with Jamie and a failed date with Guido. She was not being "passed around" (isn't this language a little regressive for fans of a franchise as supposedly progressive as the X-Men?).

As for her characterization, Monet is nowhere as one-dimensional as you are saying. Especially when it came to her friendship with Siryn.

[Agent Z]

Everyone in gen x was devastated when Synch died, I don't understand why you're singling her out as if her entire world fell down as opposed to someone who grieved and experienced the different stages of grief after it. PAD did write her especially mean in x-factor for no reason, along with Terry, Lorna and wrote Rahne as a raging evangelical homophobe. So you know, maybe pad's characterisation wasn't wholly accurate, especially given how at the end of gen x Monet developed actual character growth and wasn't the archetypical 90's mean girl she was when she started out and it continued during her time in x-corps.

Monet can never go back to who she was in gen x because that's not how trauma and emotional growth work. First off you can't ask any adult to go back to who they were at 16-17 years old because it's highly unrealistic and you've learned more things, seen more of the world and learn stuff about yourself. It becomes doubly true when you add trauma and mental illness. That doesn't mean that Monet is broken or whatever else nonsense, but that trauma changes you, it literally rewires your brain. It shapes you into a new person the way any new life experience does, it's just that it leaves you with scars and stuff to deal with.

The problem with Monet's characterisation is precisely that people are stuck in her 90's characterisation and refuse to let her evolve or grow as person, and any time she's written as more open/friendly and more flexible and with an inch of self awareness (which are all leadership qualities) people complain that she's ooc or that she isn't the gen x Monet they know. It's something Rogue and Jubilee suffer from too but that's another convo. If we want Monet to lead her own team we can't have her be that traumatised 16 years old girl who was afraid of opening up and buried everything underneath. I love gen x Monet, she's iconic, but that girl had a lot of learning and growing up to do and that's ok. Growth is not the enemy.

Plus I don't know about you, but I'd rather swallow sand than go back to who I was when i was 16-17. That person was a mess and half with horrible eyebrows and decent playlists.

David did give her a reason for her behavior.

From issue #13

[RamaBird]

Please, Synch is poised for a comeback. He's on the Reign of X promo just as prominently as M/Warren if not moreso. He'll have Hickman's own pen writing his return, flushed with the powers of all the CotV. His rainbow aura is a gorgeous visual when properly rendered, and he has a charismatic leader personality. He and M could be the new power couple in the same vein as Scott/Jean, if the writers want them to be so.

Just cause Hickman will write him well doesn't mean he's poised for a comeback. Monet is a fave of his and it's still questionable whether she's actually going to make an impact besides cool scenes here and there.

The most interesting thing I know about Sync is he dated Monet and how his death affected OTHER storylines. He comes off to me as level headed and non-dramatic. He comes off as the type of person who wouldn't get themselves involved in drama int he first place. Great for real life, but boring in media.

Sync would be better off with Laura. She's basically already A-list so he wouldn't really hold her back fro becoming A-list, and she's a Wolverine so guaranteed storylines right there. Monet can mentor Hellion (nothing romantic though) just to be petty to Laura haha.

[yogaflame]

Well then obviously you didn't read Generation X and you don't know what you're talking about.

[yogaflame]

It was PAD who passed her around. He had all the boys gawking at M sunbathing on the roof. He wrote the messy hookup with Madrox. He killed her for Strong Guy to have something to do. He passed her to Darwin. I didn't do that. He did. I'm just telling it how it is. The only two guys on the team he didn't hook her up with were too busy hooking up with each other. PAD's X-Factor was a mess(all of them, 90's too).

[Agent Z]

It was PAD who passed her around. He had all the boys gawking at M sunbathing on the roof. He wrote the messy hookup with Madrox. He killed her for Strong Guy to have something to do. He passed her to Darwin. I didn't do that. He did. I'm just telling it how it is. The only two guys on the team he didn't hook her up with were too busy hooking up with each other. PAD's X-Factor was a mess(all of them, 90's too).

Sleeping with two guys and going on a date with one is not being passed around. Nor is having guys notice she's attractive. By your logic, Storm gets "passed around" as well. He also did not hook her up with Longshot and Havok either and the only person who gawked at her sunbathing was Pip who got tossed off the roof for it.

What is this, the 50s? We're really going to act like sleeping with a grand total of two men is her being passed around? Come on.